Alex Burnett Rumors

The Yankees have released right-hander Brian Gordon from Triple-A, tweets Chad Jennings of LoHud.com. The 35-year-old made 14 appearances (13 starts) for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season compiling a 4.75 ERA, 5.8 K/9, and 3.2 BB/9 in 77 2/3 innings. Gordon last appeared in a MLB game with the Yankees in 2011.

Right-hander Alex Burnett has signed with the Sioux City Explorers, an independent league team, tweets Phil Miller of the StarTribune. The hope for the 26-year-old, according to Miller, is to draw a contract offer from the Royals. In over 177 Major League appearances, mostly with the Twins, Burnett owns a 4.70 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9.

The Cubs figure to be rather active this summer with plenty of arms that can be used as trade chips. Ace Jeff Samardzijais obviously the biggest name in the group, but there’s also Jason Hammel, Nate Schierholtz, and Jose Veras. Here’s more on Samardzija and other items out of Wrigley..

After netting what was generally considered to be the best package of the trade season in the Matt Garza trade last season, the bar figures to be very high for Samardzija, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required). At the time Garza was traded, he was about ten weeks from qualifying for free agency. Samardzija, on the other hand, won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2015 season. Samardzija also doesn’t have the injury history that Garza had.

Free agent right hander Alex Burnett, who last pitched in the majors for the Cubs, will throw for teams today in hopes of landing a deal, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish. Over 177 major league appearances, mostly with the Twins, Burnett owns a 4.70 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9.

The Braves have signed right-hander Mitch Atkins, who had been pitching for the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League, according to Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution confirmed the move (on Twitter). Atkins, 27, has had brief Major League experience with both the Cubs and Orioles. He had a 3.98 ERA in 43 innings for Somerset and has a 5.16 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 520 Triple-A innings. He will be assigned to Double-A Mississippi.

The Cubs have designated right-hander Alex Burnett for assignment, the club announced via press release. After he was claimed off of waivers five days ago, the right-hander made one scoreless appearance for Chicago. Burnett's designation will make way for fellow righty Blake Parker, who will join the Cubs from Triple-A Iowa and be available to pitch tonight.

Burnett, 25, has bounced around quite a bit early in 2013, but has only logged 2 1/3 big league innings. Over 12 minor league innings this season with the Orioles' and Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliates, he has put up a 1.50 ERA. Burnett did have a productive 2012, making 67 appearances for the Twins and registering a 3.52 ERA in 71 2/3 innings.

Burnett was claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays from the Twins on March 29th and quickly designated for assignment, at which point the Orioles claimed him. The 25-year-old made two relief appearances for Baltimore, surrendering three runs in his most recent outing. For his career, he has a 4.73 ERA, 5.7 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, and 0.74 HR/9 in 171 1/3 innings in parts of four seasons.

Burnett was claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays from the Twins on March 29th and quickly designated for assignment, at which point the Orioles claimed him. The 25-year-old made two relief appearances for Baltimore, surrendering three runs in his most recent outing. For his career, he has a 4.73 ERA, 5.7 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, and 0.74 HR/9 in 171 1/3 innings in parts of four seasons.

The Orioles entered the eighth inning of yesterday's game with a lead and held on to pick up the victory. That might not seem all that noteworthy on the surface, but as MLB.com's Matthew Leach writes, yesterday marked the 100th straight win in games where the Orioles have held a lead through seven innings. Leach examines all the aspects of the Orioles' roster that have led to their improbably success with late inning leads. Here's more on the AL East…

Alex Burnett spoke candidly with Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca regarding the waiver process that led him to end up in the Orioles' organization, and he didn't sound happy about his brief stint with the Blue Jays. Burnett said he was "shocked" to be designated for assignment by Toronto and wondered what the point of his claim was. He also adds that he's had to have his car shipped across the country twice, break two leases and send his pregnant wife home because the constant moving would have been too difficult. Burnett said he's thankful that his process has been relatively quick, and he feels bad for Casper Wells, who spent the better part of three weeks in waiver limbo. Burnett hopes that the process will be brought up at the next Players Association meeting. MLBTR's Charlie Wilmoth recently looked at the waiver process in depth.

Davidi notes that the silver lining for these players is that they do collect a Major League salary and Major League service time while they are on waivers.

The Orioles have claimed right-hander Alex Burnett off waivers from the Blue Jays and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk, the team announced via Twitter. The team has transferred Wilson Betemit to the 60-day disabled list in order to create space on the 40-man roster.

Burnett, 25, was designated for assignment when the Blue Jays claimed Casper Wells off waivers from the Mariners. Burnett's command has improved each year since his 2010 debut with, but his strikeout rate has declined as well. In 170 career innings, he has a 4.61 ERA, 5.6 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9. Last year he struck out just 36 batters in 71 2/3 innings, though he managed a solid 92.7 mph on his fastball. All three of his Major League seasons have come with the Twins.

The Blue Jays announced that they have designated right-hander Alex Burnett for assignment, the team announced in a press release. The move clears a 40-man roster spot for Casper Wells, who was claimed on waivers earlier this afternoon.

Toronto claimed Burnett off waivers at the end of Spring Training when the Twins tried to remove him from the 40-man roster. Minnesota selected the 25-year-old out of high school in the 12th round of the 2005 draft.

Burnett's command has improved each year since his 2010 debut, but his strikeout rate has declined as well. In 170 career innings, he has a 4.61 ERA, 5.6 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9. Last year he struck out just 36 batters in 71 2/3 innings, though he managed a solid 92.7 mph on his fastball.

The Blue Jays claimed right-hander Alex Burnett off of waivers from the Twins and first baseman Clint Robinson from the Pirates, according to a team press release. To make room on the 40-man roster, Toronto designated first baseman Lars Anderson for assignment.

Burnett, 25, made 67 appearances for the Twins last season, posting a 3.52 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. To date, the right-hander has spent his entire professional career with Minnesota, posting a 4.61 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 across three major league campaigns.

Robinson, 28, played in four big league games for the Royals last season but spent the bulk of the season in Triple-A Omaha. In 131 games, Robinson hit .292/.393/.452 with 13 homers.

Toronto claimed Anderson off of waivers from the White Sox a little over a month ago. The left-handed hitter, spent most of the 2012 season at Triple-A, where he posted a .250/.353/.396 batting line in 470 plate appearances.

Burnett will be sent to Triple-A Buffalo, while Robinson has been sent to Double-A New Hampshire.